Method and apparatus for a package cassette room air conditioner

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for a package cassette room air conditioner. The air conditioner may be mounted in a ceiling of a building structure. The air conditioner may include an evaporator unit and a condenser unit. The air conditioner may include a soffit inlet and a soffit outlet mounted in a soffit of a building structure. The air conditioner may include a drain outlet mounted in a soffit of a building structure.

BACKGROUND

The present embodiments relate to a method and apparatus for a packagecassette room air conditioner mounted into a ceiling or attic.

A typical residential dwelling may include a central AC system, windowair conditioner, or portable air conditioner. Thus, there is a need toprovide a package cassette room air conditioner mounted in the ceilingand/or attic space to cool an area within the dwelling while maximizingthe available space of the dwelling (e.g. maintaining floor and/orwindow space).

SUMMARY

In some embodiments, the ceiling air conditioner may include a condenserunit, an evaporator unit, a soffit outlet, and/or a soffit inlet. Invarious embodiments, both the condenser unit and the evaporator unit maybe secured to ceiling joists and positioned within an opening defined bythe ceiling joists. In addition, in some embodiments, the ceiling airconditioner may include an air inlet duct adapted to be in fluidcommunication with the condenser unit and the soffit inlet. In variousembodiments, the ceiling air conditioner may include an air dischargeduct in fluid communication with the condenser unit and the soffitoutlet.

In addition, in some embodiments, the ceiling air conditioner mayinclude a drain line and a soffit drain outlet, wherein the drain linemay be in fluid communication with the condenser unit and the soffitdrain outlet. In various embodiments, one or more outlet housings maydefine the soffit inlet, the soffit outlet, and the soffit drain outlet.In some embodiments, one or more outlet housings may define the soffitinlet and the soffit outlet. In addition, in various embodiments, theevaporator unit may be secured to the ceiling joists and the condenserunit may be supported on the evaporator unit. In some embodiments, theceiling air conditioner may include acoustic and vibration isolationstructure interconnecting the evaporator unit and the condenser unit. Invarious embodiments, the evaporator unit may include a grill configuredto be adjacent a ceiling, wherein the grill may include one or morelight sources. Moreover, in some embodiments, the condenser unit mayinclude a condensate drip tray positioned over one or more condensercoils.

In some embodiments, the ceiling air conditioner may be adapted to beinstalled in a ceiling. In various embodiments, the ceiling airconditioner may include a condenser unit positioned above an evaporatorunit by one or more acoustic and vibration isolation structure. Inaddition, in some embodiments, both the condenser unit and theevaporator unit may be secured to ceiling joists and positioned withinan opening defined by the ceiling joists. In various embodiments, theevaporator unit may be attached to the ceiling joists. In someembodiments, one or more outlet housings may define a soffit outlet anda soffit inlet. In various embodiments, the ceiling air conditioner mayinclude an air inlet duct adapted to be in fluid communication with thecondenser unit and the soffit inlet. In some embodiments, the ceilingair conditioner may include an air discharge duct in fluid communicationwith the condenser unit and the soffit outlet.

In addition, in some embodiments, the ceiling air conditioner mayinclude a drain line and a soffit drain outlet, wherein the drain linemay be in fluid communication with the condenser unit and the soffitdrain outlet. In various embodiments, the one or more outlet housingsmay define the soffit drain outlet. In some embodiments, the evaporatorunit may include a condensate pump and the condenser unit may include atleast one of a condensate drip tray positioned over one or morecondenser coils and a slinger tray, wherein the condensate pump may bein fluid communication with the at least one of the condensate drip trayand the slinger tray. In various embodiments, the soffit outlet and thesoffit inlet may be positioned at a lower elevation within a soffit of abuilding structure than the condenser unit. In some embodiments, eachone of the air inlet duct and the air discharge duct may extend from asidewall of the condenser unit.

In some embodiments, the method of installing a ceiling air conditionermay comprise the step of mounting a condenser unit and an evaporatorunit within an opening between ceiling joists of a building structure.In various embodiments, the method may include mounting a soffit outletto a soffit of the building structure. In some embodiments, the methodmay include mounting a soffit inlet to the soffit of the buildingstructure. In various embodiments, the method may include connecting oneor more ducts in fluid communication with the condenser unit and eachone of the soffit inlet and the soffit outlet within the soffit of thebuilding structure.

In addition, in some embodiments, the method may include connecting adrain line from the condenser unit to a soffit drain outlet within thesoffit of the building structure. In various embodiments, the method mayinclude installing the condenser unit and the evaporator unit upwardsbetween the ceiling joists of the building structure. In variousembodiments, the step of connecting one or more ducts may furtherinclude extending the one or more ducts downwardly towards each one ofthe soffit outlet and the soffit inlet. Moreover, in some embodiments,the method may include creating one or more openings within the soffitof the building structure to receive at least one of the soffit outletand the soffit inlet. In various embodiments, the step of mounting thecondenser unit and the evaporator unit may include the step of securingthe condenser unit to the ceiling joists of the building structure.

These and other advantages and features, which characterize theembodiments, are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and form afurther part hereof. However, for a better understanding of theembodiments, and of the advantages and objectives attained through itsuse, reference should be made to the Drawings and to the accompanyingdescriptive matter, in which there is described example embodiments.This summary is merely provided to introduce a selection of conceptsthat are further described below in the detailed description, and is notintended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used in limiting the scope of theclaimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the sameparts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed uponillustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a building structurewith one embodiment of the air conditioner unit mounted in the ceilingand/or attic illustrating fluid communication with a soffit of thebuilding structure;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional schematic view of the air conditionerunit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is top schematic view of the lower evaporator unit of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is top schematic view of the upper condenser unit of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Numerous variations and modifications will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art, as will become apparent from the descriptionbelow. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specificimplementations discussed herein.

The embodiments discussed hereinafter will focus on the implementationof the hereinafter-described techniques and apparatuses within aresidential, commercial, and/or building structure 1 such as housingstructure, such as the type that may be used in single-family ormulti-family dwellings, or in other similar applications. However, itwill be appreciated that the herein-described techniques and apparatusesmay also be used in connection with other types of building structuresin some embodiments. For example, the herein-described techniques may beused in commercial applications in some embodiments. Moreover, forexample, the air conditioner 20 mounted in a ceiling 2 and/or an attic 3may be a four-way cassette or two-way cassette in some embodiments.

As shown in the Figures, one or more air conditioners 20 may be usedwithin one or more rooms or zones 4 within the housing or buildingstructure 1, such as but not limited to a residential dwelling or otherbuilding structure. A roof 5 on the building structure 1 defines theattic 3 space above the ceiling structure or joists 6. The joists 6 ofthe ceiling 2 are spaced from each other to define an opening or space 7therebetween. The opening 7 between two parallel joists may be withinthe ceiling 2 and/or attic 3 allowing the air conditioner 20 to besecured to the joists 6 or other structure of the ceiling/atticstructure. The air conditioner 20 (e.g. the evaporator unit and/orcondenser unit) is mounted or secured to the joists 6. The opening 7between the joists 6 and/or ceiling 2 may be made during new and/orafter the new construction (e.g. old construction). For example, the airconditioner 20 or portions thereof may be installed before and/or afterthe ceiling or portions thereof 2 is installed. The air conditioner orunit 20 may be inserted into the one or more openings 7 of the ceiling 2and/or joists 6 without having to add additional ceiling joists and/oralter existing ceiling joists. The opening 7 within the ceiling 2 (e.g.ceiling panel/drywall of the attic or space) may need to be cut, formed,or created before installation of the air conditioner 20 before and/orafter mounting in various embodiments. Although a dual duct (e.g. 50,60) is shown, it should be understood that a single duct could be use.Moreover, although not shown, dampers may allow for ventilation andfresh air exchange of the conditioned space in addition to the standardcooling function. Cross-flow blowers, not shown, may also be used insome embodiments to reduce noise. Compressor and inverter technology maybe used as well as cool only and heat pump configuration. In someembodiments, Wi-Fi control, voice control, infrared occupancy detection,facial recognition with preferences, and/or different BTU sizes may beused. Condensate may be controlled by slinging and/or drain lines (e.g.70).

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the evaporator unit 40 may be secured to one ormore ceiling joists 6 and positioned within one or more openings 7 ofthe joists 6 and/or ceiling 2. The evaporator unit 40 is secured to thejoists 6 by one or more mounting or attachment mechanisms 80. Althoughthe attachment mechanism are shown as screws 82 attached to the pair ofstuds or joists 6, the attachment mechanism 80 may be a variety ofquantities, shapes, sizes, constructions, and positions with theevaporator unit 40 and/or condenser unit 30. For example, a bracket maybe used to secure the conditioner unit. Moreover, the condenser unit 30may be secured to the one or more joists 6 alone or in combination withthe evaporator unit 40. The condenser unit 30 may be positioned abovethe evaporator unit 40 as shown in the one embodiment. The condenserunit 30 may be supported on top of the evaporator unit 40. As shown inFIG. 2, positioned between or interconnecting the condenser unit 30 andthe evaporator unit 40 may be one or more acoustic and/or vibrationisolation structure 90.

The air conditioner 20 may be in fluid communication with the one ormore rooms and zones 4 and the exterior of the building structure 1. Theair conditioner 20 (e.g. condenser unit and/or evaporator unit) may bein communication with the building structure exterior via one or moresoffits 8.

One or more soffits or horizontal structure 8 of the building structure1 may be covered by the roof 5 or portions thereof. In the oneembodiment shown, one or more outlet housings 22 may be used or mountedwithin the soffit 8 and be in fluid communication with the airconditioner 20 mounted in the ceiling 2. The soffit 8 may include avariety of panels, exterior panels, or other exterior structure. Thesoffit 8 may be positioned underneath a portion of the roof line 5. Theone or more outlet housings 22 may include, but is not limited to asoffit inlet 62, a soffit outlet 52, and/or a soffit drain outlet 72.Although the inlets and/or outlets of the soffit 8 are shown asindividual pieces or structures, it should be understood that the one ormore of the inlets or outlets may be combined into a single piece,structure, or arrangement within the soffit 8 and still be within thescope of the invention. The soffit outlet and/or inlet may be acontinuous screened vent, one or more openings, or a louvered vent. Thesoffit inlet, soffit outlet, and/or drain outlet may be sealed by avariety of methods or constructions.

Although not shown, a variety of split versions may be used with acondenser placed outdoors. The split version may have one or more indoorceiling mounted evaporator units sharing the outdoor condenser.

In some implementations, the air conditioner may include one or more airinlet ducts 60 extending from the air conditioner 20 to the soffit 8. Asshown in FIG. 1, the air inlet duct 60 may be in fluid communicationwith the condenser unit 30 and the soffit inlet 62. The air inlet duct60 extends from the ceiling mounted air conditioner 20 and passesthrough the attic or ceiling space 3 to the soffit inlet 62 in thesoffit 8. The air inlet duct 60, or portions thereof, may be positionedabove the joists 6. Outdoor air may be circulated from the soffit inlet62 through the air inlet duct 60 and into the condenser unit 30.

In some implementations, the air conditioner may include one or more airdischarge ducts 50 extending from the air conditioner 20 to the soffit8. As shown in FIG. 1, the air discharge duct 50 may be in fluidcommunication with the condenser unit 30 and the soffit outlet 52. Theair discharge duct 50 extends from the ceiling mounted air conditioner20 and passes through the attic or ceiling space 3 to the soffit outlet52 in the soffit. The air discharge duct 50, or portions thereof, may bepositioned above the joists 6. The air from the condenser unit 30 may becirculated out through the discharge duct 50 and exit the soffit outlet52.

In some embodiments, the air conditioner may include one or more drainlines 70, if used, extending from the air conditioner 20 to the soffit8. As shown in FIG. 1, the drain line 70 may be in fluid communicationwith the condenser unit 30 and the drain outlet 72. The drain line 70extends from the ceiling mounted air conditioner 20 and passes throughthe attic or ceiling space 3 to the drain outlet 72 in the soffit. Thedrain line 70, or portions thereof, may be positioned above the joists6.

In various implementations, the drain line 70, the discharge duct 50,and/or the air inlet duct 60 may extend from one or more portions of theair conditioner 20. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the drain line,discharge duct, and/or air inlet duct may extend from the condenser unit30. For example, the channels, lines, or ducts may extend from thesidewall or lateral wall 31 of the condenser unit 30 laterally towardsand in fluid communication with the soffit 8 and/or housings 22. Asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the soffit outlet 52, soffit inlet 62, and/ordrain outlet 72 may be positioned below or at a lower elevation than thecondenser unit 30 or air conditioner. The discharge duct, air inletduct, and drain line, if used, may be positioned above the ceilingjoists 6 and extend downwardly towards the soffit 8. Although not shown,one or more of the ducts or lines may extend upwardly towards a soffitin some embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the evaporator unit may be mounted to the ceilingjoists in the ceiling. In some embodiments, an evaporator housing 42 ofthe evaporator unit 40 may include a variety of structure including, butis not limited to, a fan 43, fan motor 44, evaporator coils 45, and thecondensate pump 46.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the condenser unit may be positionedabove the evaporator unit. In some embodiments, a condenser housing 32of the condenser unit may include a variety of structure including, butis not limited to, a condenser coil 33, a condenser fan 34, a fan motor35, and a compressor 36. In some embodiments, a separate slinger fanblade may be used instead of using the fan 34. A condensate drip tray 37may be in fluid communication with the compressor 36 and positioned overthe condenser coils 33 as shown in the one embodiment in FIG. 2. Invarious embodiments, the compressor 36 may be directly in fluidcommunication with the slinger tray 38. Moreover, the compressor 36 maybe in fluid communication with the evaporator coils 45 and the condensercoils 33. An expansion valve and/or capillary 47 is shown in FIG. 2communicating between the evaporator coils 45 and the condenser coils33. In some embodiments, the valve 47 may be positioned between theevaporator unit 40 and the condenser unit 30, although a variety ofpositions may be used.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air conditioner 20 may include one ormore grills 24. The grill 24 may be positioned adjacent the room or zone4. The grill 24 may be connected to or be included with the evaporatorunit 40 and/or air conditioner 20 in some embodiments. The grill may bestructured for a two-way cassette and/or four-way cassette. A four-waycassette is shown in the Figures. The grill 24 may cover the peripheryof the opening 7 through the ceiling structure (e.g. panel, drywall,etc.). The grill 24 may overlap the ceiling structure 2 or drywall whenassembled with the evaporator unit 40. The grill may have one or moreair inlets and/or air outlets in communication with the zone 4.

In some implementations, as shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner mayinclude one or more light sources 25 for illuminating the one or morezones or rooms 4. The grill 24 or other portions of the air conditioner20 may include the light sources 25. A variety of light sources may beused.

In use, the ceiling air conditioner may be installed in a variety ofceiling and/or attic structures 2. The air conditioner 20 may beinstalled separately by portions thereof or as a single unit. Forexample, the evaporator unit 40 may be installed with the condenser unit30 or separately therefrom.

The user (e.g. consumer or installer) may create a hole or opening inthe ceiling of old/new construction. A hole may be created in theceiling structure or panel, however, the ceiling structure(s) or drywallmay be installed after the air conditioner or portions thereof isinstalled. The user can lift and insert the air conditioner upwardlythrough the opening 7 between the ceiling joists 6. Although the unit,or portions thereof, may be inserted downwardly from above the joists orfrom the attic space in some embodiments. Upon placement of the one ormore portions/units of the air conditioner within the opening oraperture, the user may mount the condenser unit 30 and/or evaporatorunit 40 to the one or more ceiling joists 6. The user may use a varietyof attachment mechanism to secure the air conditioner, or portionsthereof, to the ceiling joists (e.g. brackets, fasteners, or cables). Inaddition, fasteners or devices may be coupled to the rafters, other thanhorizontal joists, in some embodiments. The soffit outlet, soffit inlet,and/or soffit drain outlet may be mounted within the soffit structure ofthe building. One or more apertures or openings may be created in thesoffit structure to receive or mount the one or more outlet housings.The aperture within the soffit or portions thereof may be created aftermounting the one or more outlet housings in some embodiments. The ductsand/or drain lines (e.g. air discharge duct, air inlet duct, and/ordrain line) may be connected to the one or more housings mounted in thesoffit and the air conditioner (e.g. condenser unit). The one or moreducts and/or drain lines may be extended downwardly towards the one ormore outlet housings within the soffit. It should be understood avariety of fasteners and/or seals may be used at the opposing ends ofthe ducts and/or lines adjacent the soffit and/or air conditioner toattach the respective ends.

While several embodiments have been described and illustrated herein,those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety ofother means and/or structures for performing the function and/orobtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages describedherein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to bewithin the scope of the embodiments described herein. More generally,those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters,dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant tobe exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials,and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application orapplications for which the teachings is/are used. Those skilled in theart will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routineexperimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments describedherein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoingembodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within thescope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, embodiments may bepracticed otherwise than as specifically described and claimed.Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individualfeature, system, article, material, and/or method described herein. Inaddition, any combination of two or more such features, systems,articles, materials, and/or methods, if such features, systems,articles, materials, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, isincluded within the scope of the present disclosure.

All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood tocontrol over dictionary definitions, definitions in documentsincorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the definedterms.

The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in thespecification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to thecontrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in theclaims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements soconjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some casesand disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with“and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” ofthe elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be presentother than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause,whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when usedin conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer,in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other thanB); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elementsother than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionallyincluding other elements); etc.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should beunderstood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. Forexample, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall beinterpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, butalso including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and,optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated tothe contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when usedin the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactlyone element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or”as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusivealternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded byterms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or“exactly one of” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims,shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “atleast one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should beunderstood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more ofthe elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including atleast one of each and every element specifically listed within the listof elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the listof elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally bepresent other than the elements specifically identified within the listof elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether relatedor unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as anon-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “atleast one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) canrefer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including morethan one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements otherthan B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally includingmore than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elementsother than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionallyincluding more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including morethan one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to thecontrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one stepor act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarilylimited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method arerecited.

In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitionalphrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,”“containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are tobe understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limitedto. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consistingessentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases,respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual ofPatent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.

It is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement ofcomponents set forth in the description or illustrated in the drawings.The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orof being carried out in various ways. Unless limited otherwise, theterms “connected,” “coupled,” “in communication with,” and “mounted,”and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct andindirect connections, couplings, and mountings. In addition, the terms“connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof are not restricted tophysical or mechanical connections or couplings.

The foregoing description of several embodiments of the invention hasbeen presented for purposes of illustration. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise steps and/or formsdisclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above teaching.

1. A ceiling air conditioner comprising: a condenser unit; an evaporatorunit; wherein both the condenser unit and the evaporator unit is securedto ceiling joists and positioned within an opening defined by theceiling joists; a soffit outlet; a soffit inlet; an air inlet ductadapted to be in fluid communication with the condenser unit and thesoffit inlet; and an air discharge duct in fluid communication with thecondenser unit and the soffit outlet.
 2. The ceiling air conditioner ofclaim 1 further including a drain line and a soffit drain outlet,wherein the drain line is in fluid communication with the condenser unitand the soffit drain outlet.
 3. The ceiling air conditioner of claim 2wherein one or more outlet housings define the soffit inlet, the soffitoutlet, and the soffit drain outlet.
 4. The ceiling air conditioner ofclaim 1 wherein one or more outlet housings define the soffit inlet andthe soffit outlet.
 5. The ceiling air conditioner of claim 1 furtherincludes the evaporator unit is secured to the ceiling joists and thecondenser unit is supported on the evaporator unit.
 6. The ceiling airconditioner of claim 5 further including acoustic and vibrationisolation structure interconnecting the evaporator unit and thecondenser unit.
 7. The ceiling air conditioner of claim 1 wherein theevaporator unit includes a grill configured to be adjacent a ceiling,wherein the grill includes one or more light sources.
 8. The ceiling airconditioner of claim 1 wherein the condenser unit includes a condensatedrip tray positioned over one or more condenser coils.
 9. A ceiling airconditioner adapted to be installed in a ceiling, comprising: acondenser unit positioned above an evaporator unit by one or moreacoustic and vibration isolation structure; wherein both the condenserunit and the evaporator unit is secured to ceiling joists and positionedwithin an opening defined by the ceiling joists, and wherein theevaporator unit is attached to the ceiling joists; one or more outlethousings defining a soffit outlet and a soffit inlet; an air inlet ductadapted to be in fluid communication with the condenser unit and thesoffit inlet; and an air discharge duct in fluid communication with thecondenser unit and the soffit outlet.
 10. The ceiling air conditioner ofclaim 9 further including a drain line and a soffit drain outlet,wherein the drain line is in fluid communication with the condenser unitand the soffit drain outlet.
 11. The ceiling air conditioner of claim 10wherein the one or more outlet housings define the soffit drain outlet.12. The ceiling air conditioner of claim 9 wherein the evaporator unitincludes a condensate pump and the condenser unit includes at least oneof a condensate drip tray positioned over one or more condenser coilsand a slinger tray, wherein the condensate pump is in fluidcommunication with the at least one of the condensate drip tray and theslinger tray.
 13. The ceiling air conditioner of claim 9 wherein thesoffit outlet and the soffit inlet is positioned at a lower elevationwithin a soffit of a building structure than the condenser unit.
 14. Theceiling air conditioner of claim 9 wherein each one of the air inletduct and the air discharge duct extends from a sidewall of the condenserunit.
 15. A method of installing a ceiling air conditioner comprisingthe steps of: mounting a condenser unit and an evaporator unit within anopening between ceiling joists of a building structure; mounting asoffit outlet to a soffit of the building structure; mounting a soffitinlet to the soffit of the building structure; connecting one or moreducts in fluid communication with the condenser unit and each one of thesoffit inlet and the soffit outlet within the soffit of the buildingstructure.
 16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step ofconnecting a drain line from the condenser unit to a soffit drain outletwithin the soffit of the building structure.
 17. The method of claim 15further comprising the step of installing the condenser unit and theevaporator unit upwards between the ceiling joists of the buildingstructure.
 18. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of connecting oneor more ducts further includes extending the one or more ductsdownwardly towards each one of the soffit outlet and the soffit inlet.19. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of creating oneor more openings within the soffit of the building structure to receiveat least one of the soffit outlet and the soffit inlet.
 20. The methodof claim 15 wherein the step of mounting the condenser unit and theevaporator unit includes the step of securing the condenser unit to theceiling joists of the building structure.